A place made by a mom for moms ( and dads too!)

Years ago, I got to sample this at a food store and loved it. Since then, I’ve refined and tweaked it so much that it became another signature dish of mine. It will last a family of three about two days (if you eat like we do) and is more like a simple spaghetti casserole than anything else. I hope you enjoy it!

What you’ll need:

1 box ziti noodles
1 jar of Classico portobello mushroom and olive sauce
1/2 jar water (from the Classico jar)
1 large can of olive (cut or whole – if whole break them up)
1 large can of mushrooms -bits and stems works fine
1 large package of beef tips (if you’re on a budget, stew meat works well if you cook it tender enough)
1 can Parmesan cheese
1 small bag of mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease up a 9×12 glass baking dish
While your noodles cook, brown your meat
Once browned, drain and add the sauce and water to the meat, continuing to cook the juices in
Add your olives and mushrooms and cook the mix down some (not thick and not soupy)
Once your noodles are done, drain them and add the Parmesan cheese to them and mix well
Pour the noodles into the baking dish and once the meat mix is done, pour that over it
Cover thoroughly with the mozzarella and a little more Parmesan
Put into oven and bake until the cheese is golden brown

Start out on med high heat
Mix sugar, flour, and eggs until ‘soupy’ stirring whole time
Add salt then milk slowly and stir. You must stir the whole time and be careful or else it will burn or turn lumpy!
After pudding thickens, add your vanilla and coloring to brighten the mix
Take off of burner once pudding is thick and smooth
In the bottom of your heat resistant serving bowl, add a layer of sauce.
Add now a layer of wafers and bananas.
Repeat this layering process until the last layer on top of bowl is pudding

You can serve this dish warm/hot or cold. Remember, next day puddin’ is almost always better 😉

This is my family’s recipe with a spin. They don’t add the prosciutto, but I find that it adds a bit more of a rich flavor to it. Sure to be a family and crowd pleaser with its rustic country style flavor. Hope you enjoy!

Start on medium heat
Dry fry* bacon brown
Once bacon is browned, add tomatoes
Stir in the ketchup and Worstershire sauce and water
Turn heat to high and bring to slow boil, stirring
Once on a gentle rolling boil, add the okra and stir in
Let boil again, stirring so bottom won’t burn
Add the prosciutto and turn heat down to low to cook the sauce thick** remembering to stir and taste
Add more ketchup and Worstershire sauce as needed to flavor
Serve and enjoy!!

* dry fry – no oil or butter.
** if its not thickening to your liking fast enough, you can add a small amount of cornstarch

Take a long piece of aluminum foil. Take a 1/3 to 1/2lb of ground beef (not too lean or it will dry out) and form it into a large patty and place it in the middle of the foil. Season the meat with salt/pepper to flavor. I like to add some garlic powder and some Chicago Steak seasoning. Wash and peel 2 or 3 small potatoes and slice them evenly. Do the same with a couple of carrots or any other vegetable you prefer. My family likes to add some diced onions, but I do not. Layer the vegetable around and on top of the hamburger patty. Season the vegetable to your taste, then take the ends of the foil and bring them together fold it down leaving a small amount of space. Then close the sides, make sure to fold them up and in so that none of the juices get out. Place this on a cookie or baking sheet (I use a round pizza pan). Put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the meat cooked all the way. When finished carefully unfold the foil and use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate. Garnish as you like, I use some A-1 steak sauce, others have used ketchup or even salad dressing. (I know weird family) But it a simple and quick meal to prep and all you have to do is throw the foil away and you are done with cleanup.

Homemade Rangoons… Very fattening but very good. They go fast, but are a real treat and far cheaper to make than buy pre-made.

What you’ll need:

Wonton wraps (1 pack is normally enough)
A small bowl of cold water
1 whipped can of cream cheese
1 can crab meat
1 can baby shrimp
4 chopped green onion leeks
1 bottle of new vegetable or canola oil
(Optional: add more shrimp or crab meat or onions for a bigger bolder seafood flavor)

To make the wraps:

Mix the whipped cream cheese, onions, crab meat, and shrimp in a large bowl and chill for 30 minutes.
Start warming your oil up till its fry-ready (drop a bit of a wonton in and if it sizzles and pops, you’re ready to fry!)
Once chilled, take a wonton wrap and put a small to medium dollop of the mix in the center of it.
Wet your fingers in the water and draw them along the edge of one side (inside) of the wrap to hold together for during the fry.
Once you’ve made all of the wontons up, drop four to five into the oil. Stay close so you can remove them once they are golden brown.
Fry ’em all up, and once done, lay them on a paper towel bed to absorb excess oil.
Serve hot and enjoy!

Note: if the wraps are ‘ungluing’ in the fry, reline with water and chill for ten minutes. Try again.

A wonderful thing to eat when you’re sick… My husband always asks for this when he is.

What you’ll need:

3-4 cleaned chicken breasts
egg noodles (or any noodle… in the photo I can also see some zitti)
fresh parsley
6-7chicken broth boullion cubes (yes this makes for a rich and hearty soup)
butter to taste
Pepperoncinni to taste

Boil your water and add the chicken boullion cubes
Once melted, add the chicken
Let the chicken cook to almost done and add the noodles.
Add your butter (it makes sure the noodles don’t stick and adds to the flavor)
Add your parsley to taste
Let the meal cook down until the liquid looks like it does in the picture (or close to, should take about 1-1 1/2 hours))
Add your peppers if you want
Enjoy
(Also great for cold days!)

Per-heat oven to 350
Mix pecans and coconut.
Sprinkle in a greased 9×15 baking dish
Follow instructions on cake box and pour over nut mixture
Cream together cream cheese, powdered sugar, margarine and vanilla
Drop large dollops onto the cake mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes
There should be large craters in the cake and possible cracks
No two cakes are alike! 🙂 they all look like a mistake but taste wonderful!

To make this, you need to keep in mind, I am from the south (and use southern measurments to cook with). I also come from a family that eats together a lot, so that means lots of food…

6-8 medium to large sweet golden potatoes
8 ish Kosher Dill Pickles (or any other dill pickle will do)
9 ish medium to large eggs (both the white and brown work, we prefer brown)
Vinegar to taste
Pickle juice to taste
A large dollop or two of mayonaise (I prefer Helmans or Best Foods)
A long squirt or two of mustard (the cheaper, the better)

Boil both eggs and potatoes to completion (potatoes are soft and eggs are hard) and put in the fridge (or if you’re impatient like I am, in the freezer for faster results) to cool down to handle easier
Dice pickles, eggs, and potatoes and put in bowl
Slowly add the rest of your ingrediants. Add small amounts at a time to taste.
The finished product will be creamy, but chunky (if that makes sense)
Cool in fridge

This has got to be one of my more favorite breakfasts. French toast with sugar for a dipping side. Normally everyone wants seconds of it! I will warn you, I have never measured the ingredients for this particular dish. I was taught as a little girl to use my senses to cook with on certain recipes and this is one of them. That means taste your dish! Smell your dish! Use your eyes to see if it looks okay…

What you will need:

(For a serving size of two)

4-6 pieces of thick sliced bread (Thick holds up better when frying.)
A cinnamon shaker
Either fresh ground nutmeg or a nutmeg shaker
5 or so eggs
~3 Tbs vanilla extract*
~1 Cup sugar*
A tub of butter to use to fry with (Yes, I said butter and I did warn you I am a southern cook, lol)
1 large tall lipped frying pan

(~ = give or take)

How to cook:
This recipe goes very fast, so ill only have you start the heat and frying pan up after you make the mix.
In a large mixing bowl, beat all of your eggs up till they are nice and scrambled.
Add your cinnamon and nutmeg and beat in. Use as much as you like to taste. I prefer about six or seven (per each spice) good shakes as this has to be used for all of the bread.
Add your sugar slowly, again to your sugar liking. I am not telling you to taste the eggs by the way. Just keep in mind your preference. Keep in mind the consistency of the eggs. They should still beat smoothly.
Add your vanilla.
Beat up the whole mixture.
Heat up your butter (use an appropriate amount for a very thin layer to spread on the entirety of the pan)
Dip each piece of bread in the mix (up to three at a time can go into the pan) and fry until the egg is fluffy and done.
Fry up any remaining eggs for some tasty scrambled eggs.
Add the remainder of your sugar to the side of the plate and serve hot! Enjoy this sweet take on normal French Toast.

Egg and bacon cups… Very yummy and super easy to make. I made these a while ago for my family when we had guests visiting, and it sure does take cooking time down b a lot so you don’t miss a moment with the visitors.

What you’ll need:

1 dozen eggs
1-2 packs bacon (I normally get store bought prepackaged, but you can use what you like. Keep in mind it’s better to use thing sliced so it cooks faster and better.)
A muffin tin (mine is silicone but you can use the metal ones. Just make sure it’s non-stick!)
A pan to fry the bacon (or you can microwave it. I recently learned you can pop bacon in the microwave -yes raw bacon!- cover it with a paper towel and cook for a few minutes)
Optional- cheese, salt, veggies of our choice

Pre-heat the oven to around 400-425 depending on what time you have available. i prefer 400 for a slow cook.
Start off by cooking your bacon. Make sure it’s pliable but mostly cooked. You don’t need it crispy or it will not bend to make the cup in the tins. Again frying pan or microwave are both fine to cook it.
Once the bacon is all done, start lining the muffin tins with the bacon. Cover all the area you can of each cup so the egg and whatever add-ins you’ve chosen wont fall through much.
You can either crack your egg whole or scramble them. If you have add-ins, add them to scrambled eggs now.
Pour the eggs into each cup. And leave some room for any expanding. Remember these will be a little greasy too…
Put your cheese on top if you like now.
Put into oven and cook until the eggs are done. Each muffin tin is different, but mine normally take about 20 minutes to complete.
Let cool for three minutes or so and serve! Enjoy the blended flavor of bacon eggs and maybe asparagus and cheddar cheese together.